5stars

Why: This book was lovely magical realism at its finest. I felt transported, and at the end of the book, I felt changed. I listened to this on audiobook, his stop, and bought a print copy to share with friends. I really feel this book.

This is the story of men on death row, and the lives that radiate from that seemingly-forsaken place. The narrator, referred to as Arden at points in the story, watches but does not speak. Alternately, we see what life is like for a newly-arrived boy only serving a bit of time; for York, who refuses to fight on appeal to save his own life; for a variety of prison staff in this corrupt, vividly disgusting hellhole; and for Arden, the Lady whose job it is to save York, and the Fallen Priest. Incidentally, the Lady shares her line of work – indigent defense of death row inmates) with the author.

All characters deal with more than their fair share of problems in their lifetime, but the title refers to an altogether unique and magical setting – the prison itself is alive. Is in enchanted, and the narrator often refers to it as “This enchanted place.” No enchanted place could be more heartbreaking. I don’t want to share the stories of abuse, mental illness, and depravity that are contained in these pages, because you must read them yourself to understand how deeply everyone has been let down in this story. The setting will help you to understand, as it is its own character.

This books is about death row and prison: the corruption, the politics, and mental health issues. This book is about humanity: love, vulnerability, and the act of moving on or moving forward or moving beyond. Its ending, while perhaps not happy, is one of the few truly beautiful endings I’ve come across in a while.

Why: First of all, I love Neil Gaiman. I picked up this book because I love Neil Gaiman. This is a slim book containing Norse mythology (as the title may suggest). It is not new information and the stories contained within are not Gaiman’s stories. So why did I read this, and why is it worthy of 5 stars?

First, Gaiman is uniquely positioned to write this story. His extremely well-reviewed novel American Gods borrows heavily from Norse mythology. I knew that he would treat the topic with respect, as he has shown a deep interest in it. Additionally, Gaiman is in my opinion one of the best story tellers in the 21st century. From adult novels like American Gods to children’s tales like Fortunately, the Milk, Gaiman has shown himself to be singularly adept at weaving a tale. Norse myths deserve such tales to be told. And finally, I love Norse mythology – my father, who I adore, has a tattoo of Odin on his bicep. So, what else was to be done than devour this quick read?

This collection of short stories is peak Gaiman, with beautiful turns of phrase, simple syntax, and clever bits to smile at if you’re paying attention to what you’re reading. I can’t recommend it enough for that reason, since any book of mythology has a penchant toward being dry as it is shoved full of details (sorry, Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, but it’s true), and Norse mythology itself has a tendency to end of a little bloody and violent, so some dry humor helps the medicine go down.

I will recommend this book to anyone and everyone. I recommend it to you, without hesitation.

I’ll leave you with some Thoughts of Thor: “I’m not happy about any of this,” said Thor. “I’m going to kill somebody soon, just to relieve the tension. You’ll see.”